David Crane Confirmed as US-DOE Under Secretary for Infrastructure

Senate Confirms First-Ever Under Secretary for Infrastructure at Energy Department
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From an Article of Homeland Security Today, June 14, 2023
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David Crane served as Director of DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and previously was the CEO of Climate Real Impact Solutions. The Senate has now confirmed him by a vote of 56 to 43 to serve as Under Secretary for Infrastructure at the U.S. Department of Energy.

“David Crane has spent his career in the private sector shaping the ideas and ambition at the heart of President Biden’s clean energy agenda,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said. “His deep knowledge of the energy sector makes him the perfect fit for our first-ever Under Secretary for Infrastructure.

With him at the lead of this organization, the Department will be laser-focused on realizing the goals of the President’s Invest in America Agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — deploying clean energy manufacturing and capacity, enhancing domestic energy security, creating good-paying jobs in communities across the country, and lowering costs for all Americans. I am grateful that David is bringing his talents to the Department and thank the Senate for confirming his nomination.”

David Crane is a leading business voice in the field of sustainability, clean energy, and climate change. Prior to his confirmation as Under Secretary for Infrastructure he served as Director of DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.

Outside of government, Crane was the CEO of Climate Real Impact Solutions and served on the Boards of Heliogen Inc, Source Global, JERA Co. Inc., and Tata Steel Ltd, along with the not-for-profit Boards of Elemental Excelerator and The Climate Group NA. He was also a part of The B Team, serving as a leader and chairing the organization’s Net Zero Initiative.

Previously, David Crane was CEO of NRG. During his 12-year tenure, he took NRG from Chapter 11 to a Fortune 200 company. Crane also led NRG to the forefront of next-generation clean energy development through large scale initiatives in utility scale renewables (now Clearway), residential solar, post combustion carbon capture (Petra Nova) and DC fast charging (EVGO). Prior to NRG, Crane was CEO of International Power Plc, a UK-domiciled FTSE-100 company. During Crane’s tenure, NRG won numerous industry, community, and environmental awards, including multiple “transaction of the year” awards.

David Crane was named Energy Industry “CEO of the Year” by EnergyBiz in 2010, top CEO in the electric utility sector by Institutional Investor in 2011, and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young in 2010. Crane was also awarded the Corporate Environmental Leadership award by GlobalGreen in 2014 and the Equinox Solar Champion Award and the C.K. Prahalad Award for Global Sustainability Business Leadership, both in 2015. NRG, under Crane’s leadership, was a key member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership from 2008 to 2011.

David Crane is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Princeton University.

Read more at the Department of Energy

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See Also: US-DOE overhauls infrastructure leadership, Jeremy Dillon, E & E News, 02/09/2022

The Department of Energy is set to announce a new leadership structure today that would focus much of the agency’s infrastructure law responsibilities under a new undersecretary position.

The reorganization comes as DOE grapples with how to best spend about $62 billion as part of last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law to help deploy emerging clean energy technologies and bolster the grid.